"Do you truly wish to pursue this unending vendetta against me? My brothers have all fallen at your hands today, can you not just let this matter rest?"
The Dragon King said furiously to Chen Jie.
Chen Jie sneered, "You should have considered the consequences before undertaking this endeavor! And I, of all people, dislike leaving loose ends!"
"It's just a woman, isn't it? We didn't succeed in getting her, did we? Moreover, that woman isn't as important as you imagine!"
Chen Jie retorted, "Not as important as I imagine? Then why did you mobilize your entire force for her?"
"This was merely a show of force! In reality, we were only probing Da Xia's attitude! Don't you know that?" the Dragon King said.
"Probing attitude? I don't think so." Chen Jie attacked the Dragon King once more.
After a flurry of blows, the Dragon King was pushed back steadily.
He was secretly alarmed.
He was already exhausted in body and mind, yet Chen Jie appeared unfazed, neither blushing nor breathless.
"Really! We have no need to trouble an orphan! In fact, even if we had captured her, we wouldn't have harmed her!" the Dragon King said in a panic.
"Orphan? What did you say?" Chen Jie was stunned, then exclaimed.
"You don't know?"
The Dragon King said in surprise, "At your level, you still don't know such a secret? Unbelievable!"
The Dragon King breathed a sigh of relief and then said to Chen Jie, "Then you might have been tricked! The Dragon Group hired you to protect someone insignificant!"
He then revealed some secrets to Chen Jie.
After listening to all of it, Chen Jie's expression became very peculiar.
There was disappointment, heartache, and pity!
This was because what the Dragon King told him concerned the secret of Li Ziling's parentage.
Li Ziling's biological father was indeed the White Feather War God.
However, the real White Feather War God had long since died.
And the current White Feather War God was merely an imposter.
It turned out that the White Feather War God had led his army to war with Yan Country, gaining a significant advantage.
It wouldn't be long before Yan Country might be annexed.
However, in the process, the White Feather War God fell into an ambush and was killed by a mysterious expert.
To stabilize morale, the Dragon Gate had no choice but to conceal the secret of the White Feather War God's death.
In other words, Li Ziling could no longer see her father.
Her dream of seeing her father again after all these years could never be realized.
As for why the Tianyi Sect continued to pursue Li Ziling, it was because Li Ziling was, after all, the descendant of a meritorious official. By capturing Li Ziling, the Tianyi Sect could negotiate with the Dragon Gate.
"Chen Jie, if you spare me today, my Tianyi Sect will no longer pursue Li Ziling! Because Li Ziling is not that important to us either, you can completely believe my words!"
The Dragon King said to Chen Jie in a deep voice.
"Master!"
Lin Mengjiao saw Chen Jie and quickly went to his side, looking warily at the Dragon King.
This Dragon King posed a great threat to her.
Chen Jie drew his bronze sword and nodded to Lin Mengjiao, saying, "Cooperate with me and kill this person!"
"Yes, Master!"
The Dragon King looked desperate and roared, "Even if I die today, you will not have a good end! Because I am from the Five Directions Sect!"
"Five Directions Sect? Never heard of it. Attack!"
Chen Jie did not take the Dragon King's words seriously. Instead, he commanded Lin Mengjiao and was the first to approach the Dragon King.
As Chen Jie swung his sword down again and again, the Dragon King retreated.
He despaired to find that Chen Jie's speed had increased considerably this time, far beyond his ability to match.
Moreover, in their previous exchange, Chen Jie had not even used his sword.
He had always thought Chen Jie had discarded his sword somewhere.
Who knew he could draw it out so casually.
"This kid was not using his full strength before! How strong is he truly!"
The Dragon King despaired to realize that Chen Jie was not only not using his full strength, but his power had also surged, and the abilities he displayed were completely different from his previous martial arts prowess.
"So, he really treated me as a whetstone!"
The Dragon King roared, "The Dark Shadow Sect will avenge me!"
*Pfft!*
Chen Jie beheaded the Dragon King with a single sword strike, but he did not feel as relaxed as he had imagined.
Having interacted with Li Ziling for so long, it would be a lie to say he had no feelings for her.
He had thought that once the Tianyi Sect was destroyed, Li Ziling's identity would no longer need to be hidden, and she wouldn't have to live in hiding.
He never expected that Li Ziling's father had already died.
"A pity that the people from the Dark Shadow Sect were not dealt with together!" A tremor ran through the bronze sword, conveying Fang Shaohua's thoughts.
An hour had passed by the time Chen Jie and Lin Mengjiao returned to Qianlong Mountain Villa.
They had taken a taxi back.
Inside the villa, a group of men in black were meticulously cleaning up various bloodstains with rags, as if performing housekeeping.
Corpses were being carried away.
Professional equipment was used for cleaning and restoration.
An outsider would have thought it was a renovation company sprucing up the place.
"Mr. Chen, you're back?" Lv Changbu greeted Chen Jie with great enthusiasm.
Chen Jie looked at the people wearing white gloves, black suits, and diligently working, and asked in surprise, "Boss Lu, who are these people?"
"Oh! Mr. Chen, you mean them! They are cleaners."
Chen Jie was surprised, they really were cleaners.
Yet, they worked with such composure.
It looked rather bizarre.
This was because they were all ordinary people, not martial artists.
Lv Changbu reminded him, "These are no ordinary cleaners, they are cleaners who serve martial artists!"
"And they only accept payment in the gold coins they make themselves! They do not accept cash at all!"
Saying that, he took out two gold coins and handed them to a cleaner.
"Oh? How does one obtain these gold coins?"
Chen Jie asked, surprised.
"These gold coins were given to me by the cleaners' organization. If ordinary people want to obtain them, they usually have to pay a price that cannot be solved with money."
Lv Changbu explained.
These cleaners seemed like a mysterious assassin organization, except their service was different.
Typically, they provided clean-up services for those who could afford the gold coins.
After their work at a scene, no trace would be left behind, not even a fingerprint.
Obtaining a cleaner's gold coin often meant owing them a favor or having previously helped the cleaners.
Chen Jie nodded, indicating he understood.
Lv Changbu then said, "Mr. Chen, it seems this villa of yours is no longer suitable for living in!"
"I have an idea, I don't know if I should say it."
Chen Jie asked, "What idea?"
Too many people had died here today, even if it were cleaned thoroughly, He Yufei would likely not dare to live here.
Chen Jie, however, was indifferent.
"Mr. Chen, why don't we invest together and turn these villas into a top-tier hotel?"
"Of course, these villas are extremely expensive to build, and recovering the cost won't be easy. Therefore, we can leverage our influence to set some rules!"
"As long as people stay at the hotel, we will be responsible for their safety!"